Steve decided to enter public life after his daughter Lauren was born with Down Syndrome. As a Freeholder Director, he helped build schools and established parks that catered to children with disabilities. And as senator, he sponsored laws that removed references to “retardation” in state statutes and created a statewide registry of offenders who abused individuals with developmental disabilities.

A union ironworker by trade, Senator Sweeney has sponsored and supported measures to protect the rights of workers and support organized labor. Seeing firsthand the challenge of caring for a loved one without losing your job, Steve sponsored the state’s Paid Family Medical Leave Act.

A fighter for hard-working New Jerseyans, Steve led the effort to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage and continues to champion fair and equitable wages.

His father, also a union ironworker, taught Steve the value of loyalty and commitment. As a boy, Steve's father impressed upon him the importance of standing by your friends even when the going gets tough. It's a lesson that remains with him today and is the reason why he has been a die hard Green Bay Packers fan for his entire life.

Steve was born in Camden in 1959, and currently serves as General Vice President of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union. The Senator and his wife, Patti, were married in 1986 and have two children, Stephen and Lauren.